In the middle of it all.

CHAPTER 9

"If you think this is too much, you're going to hate me in a few minutes."

"What did you do?" She groaned.

"Nothing bad except make the house more comfortable for you."

"That's unnecessary."

"Not at all," he said quickly. "You're doing more for us. It's the least I can do for you. Come on." He began to walk her out the room. As soon as they stepped out the room, he pulled her hand towards the wall. "Feel this."

She frowned and ran her fingers slowly over the wall. It was bumpy. "What am I feeling?"

"They're called locator dots. I've placed them on the walls, all in a straight line to help you find your way to the important rooms, the living room, kitchen, my office, and the greenhouse. If you keep following the dots, you'll end up in one of the rooms."

Mikayla drew her hand away and turned towards Daxton. Her throat felt tight with emotion as she struggled to gather her thoughts. No one had ever put so much effort into helping her and she was sure Daxton still had more to show. Though her parents had done the best they could, they never had the money for all of this. This was all too much.

"There's more," he whispered to her.

"I don't need more."

"You'll love this. Use the dots. The first room it takes you to is the kitchen." She nodded and placed her hand on the wall again. She walked slowly, carefully and still not sure if she could trust the little dots. She could feel Daxton beside her, and it was all that gave her comfort. They walked unhurriedly towards the kitchen and at first Mikayla felt bad for making Daxton walk such a slow pace, but he never complained. When they reached the kitchen, he took her hand and led her further into the room.

"Now, I remember you mentioning once that you've always wanted to know how to cook."

She nodded. "Yes, but I can't without possibly cutting myself or burning the house down."

"Not here."

"What do you mean."

"I've asked Mary to teach you a few recipes. She'll teach you using the new appliances I bought. That's if you want to at least."

She shook her head, at a complete loss with how to respond. Daxton didn't seem to mind and instead pulled her around the room, showing her all the new things he'd bought. There was a frying pan with tactile controls, a scale that spoke, tape on every appliance and furniture that had a label made from Braille on it so she could identify what she was touching. There was even a finger guard she could use when cutting food so she wouldn't have to risk losing a finger. It was all so much. He'd even gone further and had Braille labels put on all her clothes, so she knew what she was wearing.

"I just, um... what?" She stumbled while her hands pulled her hair, then her robe. She didn't know how to respond. "This is all so much." He shrugged. "It must have cost a fortune."

"Don't think about that. Just think about how much easier living here will be."

Her eyes widened. "You've catered so much for me. It's unfair. I shouldn't be taking advantage."

He scoffed. "You aren't taking advantage. I wanted to do this for you because you deserve it. Besides, you're doing a lot for me too."

She scoffed. "I'm not. All I'm doing is pretending to date your brother."

He laughed. "And you have no idea what a job that will be. Trust me, all this is the least I can do."

She frowned at him. "Why does everyone say that?"

"Say what?"

"Make it sound like dating Cameron is equivalent to war."

"Because it is. He's a handful."

"He can't possibly be that bad." She hoped at least.

"Oh he is, and you'll understand soon enough."

"When does he get out?"

"Next week." She could hear the happiness in his voice. Daxton must really miss his brother. The thought made Mikayla smile. Daxton was a good brother and she hoped Cameron knew how lucky he was.

"So, what do you want to do first?" She knew he meant what new appliance she wanted to try but there was really only one thing she wanted to do. Without giving warning, she leaned forward and threw her arms around him. She was thankful for his height which meant all she could reach was his waist. She squeezed him tight and dug her head in his chest. His arms followed quickly and soon she was covered in his embrace, warm and safe.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea how much this all means to me."

"Anything for you," he whispered into her hair. She smiled against his chest and blushed when she felt his lips on her head. She said nothing more, simply enjoying being so close to him. She'd never felt so comfortable within a hug. She'd never felt like she could hug someone for hours and yet, that's all she really wanted to do at that moment with Daxton.

Hold him and be with him.